| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to high school diploma options; |
| 3 | requiring the Office of Program Policy Analysis and |
| 4 | Government Accountability, in conjunction with the |
| 5 | Department of Education, to conduct a study on the |
| 6 | creation of a high school graduation option that |
| 7 | focuses on career-technical education and leads to a |
| 8 | career-technical education diploma; providing |
| 9 | requirements for the study with recommendations to the |
| 10 | Legislature; providing an effective date. |
| 11 |
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| 12 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 13 |
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| 14 | Section 1. (1) The Office of Program Policy Analysis and |
| 15 | Government Accountability, in conjunction with the Department of |
| 16 | Education, shall conduct a study on the creation of a 4-year |
| 17 | high school graduation option that focuses on career-technical |
| 18 | education with less rigorous graduation requirements than the |
| 19 | requirements currently in law. The study shall include, but is |
| 20 | not limited to: |
| 21 | (a) The feasibility of offering students the option of |
| 22 | pursuing a career-technical education diploma, distinct from the |
| 23 | standard high school diploma, which provides workforce readiness |
| 24 | and requires at a minimum that a student earn at least one |
| 25 | national industry certification identified in the Industry |
| 26 | Certification Funding List. |
| 27 | (b) Required coursework to earn a career-technical |
| 28 | education diploma, including the possibility of changing between |
| 29 | the coursework required to earn the standard high school diploma |
| 30 | and the coursework required to earn a career-technical education |
| 31 | diploma. |
| 32 | (c) The potential use of career and professional |
| 33 | academies, internships, the Florida Ready to Work Certification |
| 34 | Program, and other relevant career and technical education |
| 35 | programs. |
| 36 | (d) A timeframe for implementation of a career-technical |
| 37 | education graduation option and diploma if determined to be |
| 38 | feasible. |
| 39 | (2) The study shall build upon the information and |
| 40 | findings reported in the Office of Program Policy Analysis and |
| 41 | Government Accountability Report No. 11-05. |
| 42 | (3) The Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government |
| 43 | Accountability shall submit the results of its study with |
| 44 | recommendations to the President of the Senate and the Speaker |
| 45 | of the House of Representatives by December 1, 2012. |
| 46 | Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law. |